The Gender Super Bowl
The Super Bowl reflects American society. This year, the American population is working through issues related to gender. Super Bowl advertisers study the U.S. population for months, trying to understand what is significant and what people are thinking about. They then develop ads that build on and reflect these insights. The ads you see on the Super […]
Go Daddy Dodges a Bullet
Earlier this week Professor Derek Rucker and I wrote an article for Fortune highlighting four Super Bowl spots that never should have run. GoDaddy was about to secure a second spot on that list, setting up next year’s article on five spots that never should have run. Yesterday afternoon, however, GoDaddy pulled its ad. The company […]
Go Daddy’s Super Bowl Problem
GoDaddy just released its Super Bowl spot featuring Buddy the very cute puppy. There is just one problem. People seem to hate it. A few early comments from You Tube: “If you don’t remove this video I will cancel all my websites and business and go elsewhere.” “How dare you depict breeders who love and […]
Victoria’s Secret Gets Everything Right
Every once in a while you see a marketer make it all look easy. The advertising delivers a benefit. The communication generates interest. People respond. This week, Victoria’s Secret provides an example. The brand is making all the right moves as it heads into the Super Bowl. Let’s review some of the brand’s recent activity. […]
Super Tuesday for Super Bowl Advertisers
We now know who will be playing in the Super Bowl on February 1. It should be a good game. We don’t know much about the more interesting part of the event: the advertising. The Super Bowl advertising hype is just beginning. To date, only a few advertisers have rolled out their pre-game campaigns. Skittles released a […]
Carnival Corporation and Brand Portfolio Strategy
Carnival will be advertising on the 2015 Super Bowl. The move makes sense; Carnival Corporation is by far the world’s largest cruise company and wants to get people in the U.S. excited about taking a trip. This a good time for such a message; the economy is getting better and people have money to spend. […]
Five Brands to Watch in 2015
This will be a challenging year for many brands. Competition is intense, growth can be hard to find and the growth of digital communication is shifting the marketing landscape. Here are five notable brands to watch in the year ahead. Lufthansa Lufthansa is one of the world’s great airlines. It is also under attack. Lufthansa […]
The Marketer’s December Task: Look Back
We are close to the end of the year. This is an important time for marketers to take a look at the business and reflect on how things have gone. Business leaders don’t devote much time to looking back. There is constant pressure to update the plan and execute, so people tend to work on the […]
GoDaddy, Great Brands and Risk
GoDaddy announced last week that it will be advertising on the Super Bowl again in 2015. The announcement was not a surprise; GoDaddy has used the Super Bowl effectively to build its brand over the past decade. This will be its 11th appearance. GoDaddy also announced that its Super Bowl ad will feature a cute […]
Kicking off the Super Bowl Advertising Season
The Super Bowl is just over two months away. Once again, Derek Rucker and I will be leading the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review. I’ll be posting about Super Bowl ads in the weeks leading up to the game. Last year Derek and I had a dedicated blog for the event. This year, I’ll post our thoughts here. […]
Wallenda, Chicago and Branding
Chicago built its brand this week by hosting Nik Wallenda’s high-wire walk across the city. The event attracted attention around the world. It was a terrific moment for Chicago; the event highlighted Chicago’s remarkable urban center. While people were watching Wallenda they were also watching Chicago. This is how great brands are built in the […]
Four Scary Spots
It is Halloween, a day for frights and spooky scenes. So here are four exceptionally scary ads to consider. Dale Carnegie This is truly a frightening ad. The setting is all too familiar: someone with a gun and a mask. While the setting is a bank robbery, it feels like a school shooting. This is any […]